Daniel 2:30 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Daniel 2:30
But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
to attenuate · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
not
לָ֤אla'
H3809
not (the simple or abs. negation) · negative particle
revealed
גֱּלִ֣יge.Li
H1541
to denude (especially in a disgraceful sense) · verb, perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
wisdom
בְחָכְמָה֙ve.cha.khe.Mah
H2452
wisdom · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute
have
אִיתַ֥י'i.Tai
H383
properly · noun, common both genders singular absolute
than
מִןmin-
H4481
properly · preposition
any
כָּלkol-
H3606
properly · noun, common both genders singular construct
living
חַיַּיָּ֔אchai.yai.Ya'
H2417
alive · adjective, masculine plural determined + particle of affirmation
but
לָהֵ֗ןla.Hen
H3861
therefore · conjunction
sakes
דִּבְרַת֙div.Rat
H1701
a reason · noun, common feminine singular construct
that
עַל'al-
H5922
above · preposition
known
יְהוֹדְע֔וּןye.hod.'Un
H3046
to know (properly · verb, hiphil imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
interpretation
פִשְׁרָא֙fish.Ra'
H6591
an interpretation · noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
king
לְמַלְכָּ֣אle.mal.Ka'
H4430
a king · preposition + noun, common both genders singular determined + particle of affirmation
know
תִּנְדַּֽעtin.Da'
H3046
to know (properly · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
thoughts
וְרַעְיוֹנֵ֥יve.ra'.yo.Nei
H7476
a grasp. i.e. (figuratively) mental conception · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct
heart
לִבְבָ֖ךְli.Vakh
H3825
the heart (as the most interior organ) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 41:16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
Acts 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by…
Daniel 2:17-18 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
2 Corinthians 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
Isaiah 43:3-4 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
Isaiah 45:4 For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me…
Daniel 1:17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dr…
Daniel 2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Daniel 2:24-30
We have here the introduction to Daniel's declaring the dream, and the interpretation of it.
I. He immediately bespoke the reversing of the sentence against the wise men of Babylon, Dan 2:24. He went with all speed to Arioch, to tell him that his commission was now superseded: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon. Though there were those of them perhaps that deserved to die, as magicians, by the law of God, yet here that which they stood condemned for was not a crime worth of death or of bonds, and therefore let them not die, and be unjustly destroyed, but let them live, and be justly shamed, as having been nonplussed and unable to do that which a prophet of the Lord could do. Note, Since God…
not . . . for any wisdom that I have--not on account of any previous wisdom which I may have manifested (Dan 1:17, Dan 1:20). The specially-favored servants of God in all ages disclaim merit in themselves and ascribe all to the grace and power of God (Gen 41:16; Act 3:12). The "as for me," disclaiming extraordinary merit, contrasts elegantly with "as for thee," whereby Daniel courteously, but without flattery, implies, that God honored Nebuchadnezzar, as His vicegerent over the world kingdoms, with a revelation on the subject uppermost in his thoughts, the ultimate destinies of those kingdoms.
for their sakes that shall make known, &c.--a Chaldee idiom for, "to the intent that the interpre…
There is a God in heaven - To distinguish him from those idols, the works of men's hands; and from the false gods in which the Chaldeans trusted.
In the latter days - A phrase which, in the prophets, generally means the times of the Messiah. God is about to show what shall take place from this time to the latest ages of the world. And the vision most certainly contains a very extensive and consecutive prophecy; which I shall treat more largely at the close of the chapter, giving in the mean time a short exposition.
The Church Fathers
Just as he himself also, being lowly and humbling himself, and not boasting, though he was found wiser than all of the Babylonians, said, "Moreover this mystery was not revealed to me because the wisdom in me is greater than all those who dwell upon the earth, rather it was revealed to me for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, so that you may know the considerations of your heart." [Daniel 2:30] For after the king had taken Egypt and after taking over the Jewish land and deporting the people, he considered upon his bed what was there to do after these things. But he who knows the secrets of all and searches the considerations of the hearts, revealed to the king what will be through the image, but God hid the vision from him, so that the plans of God would be able to be explained not by the wise men of Babylon, but by the blessed Daniel, in as much as the things which were hidden from all, were revealed by the prophet of God.
For nothing is so advantageous, and so likely to pacify the hearers, as to say nothing about one's self of an honorable nature, but, on the contrary, to obviate all surmise of wishing to do so. And, in truth, much more did they increase their glory by despising glory, and showing that what had just taken place was no human act, but a Divine work; and that it was their part to join with the beholders in admiration, rather than to receive it from them. Do you see how clear of all ambition he is, and how he repels the honor paid to him? In the same manner also did the ancient fathers; for instance, Daniel said, "Not for any wisdom that is in me." And again Joseph, "Do not interpretations belong to God?" And David, "When the lion and the bear came, in the name of the Lord I rent them with my hands." And so likewise here the Apostles, "Why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?"
Verse 30. "Moreover this holy secret has not been revealed to me in virtue of any wisdom which inheres in me more than in all living men, but rather that the interpretation might be manifested to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thine own mind." The king had imagined that cleverness of the human intellect could embrace a knowledge of the future, and for that reason he had ordered the wise men of Babylon to be slain. Daniel therefore makes excuse for those who were unable to speak, and himself avoids the envy of others, lest any should imagine that he had said any of the things he was going to say by virtue of his personal wisdom. But the cause of the prophetic revelation was the earnest desire of the king, who wished to know the future. Consequently he does honor to the king, because he states that it was for the sake of the king's knowledge that the secrets have been revealed by God. And this fact should be pondered, that dreams in which any coming events are signified and in which truth is shown forth, as it were, through a cloud, are not manifest to the conjectures or dominion of the human mind but to the knowledge of God alone.
Dictionary and topics
Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or…
Dreams · God the only interpreter of — God the only interpreter of
Humility · EXEMPLIFIED — EXEMPLIFIED
Interpreter · Of dreams — Of dreams
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Gill on Daniel 2:30
But as for me,.... As to the part I have in this affair, I can ascribe nothing to myself; it is all owing to the God of heaven, the recovery of the dream, and its interpretation:
this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living: not that he thought or affirmed that he had more wisdom than any man living, as the Vulgate Latin version and others suggest; but as the king might think he had, by revealing this secret to him, and that it was owing to that; but that he had not such wisdom, and, whatever he had, which was the gift of God, it was not through that, or any sagacity and penetration into things he was master of, superior to others, that it was revealed t…
Daniel 2:30
30. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
30. Et ego, [143] non in sapientia quae sit in me prae cunctis viventibus, arcanum hoc patefactum est mihi; [144] sed ut interpretationem regi exponerem, et cogitationes cordis tui cognosceres.
Here Daniel meets an objection which Nebuchadnezzar might make, -- If God alone can reveal secrets, how, I pray thee, canst thou, a mere mortal, do it? Daniel anticipates this, and transfers the whole glory to God, and ingenuously confesses that he has no inte…
Daniel's willingness to declare his dream to the king; his prayer for a revelation of the secret, and the answer to his prayer; his explanation before the king.
Dan 2:14
Through Daniel's judicious interview of Arioch, the further execution of the royal edict was interrupted. וּטעם עטא התיב, he answered, replied, counsel and understanding, i.e., the words of counsel and understanding; cf. Pro 26:16. The name Arioch appears in Gen 14:1 as the name of the king of Ellasar, along with the kings of Elam and Shinar. It is derived not from the Sanscr. ârjaka, venerabilis, but is probably formed from ארי, a lion, as נסרך from nisr = נשׁר. רב־טבּחיּא is the chief of the bodyguard, which was regarded…
God had shown the king the long march of future history. Nebuchadnezzar was keenly interested in history, pursuing knowledge of the past and seeking to make a place for himself as history went forward. God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to understand the course of history, perhaps to impress upon him that Israel’s God, the God of heaven, is the God of all history.
Rashi on Daniel 2:30
And I, not with wisdom And I, not with superior wisdom that I have, more than other creatures, was this secret revealed to me.
but in order that they should let the king know the interpretation They should let you know from heaven.
and you should know the thoughts of your heart and the thoughts of your heart about which you are constantly thinking, [which are] to know who will rise after you.
you should know [as translated,] you should know.
